Book Review: Videojournalism. Multimedia Storytelling, by Kenneth Kobré

Abstract

Kenneth Kobre Videojournalism. Multimedia Storytelling. Waltham, MA: Focal Press, 2012. 261 pp.Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose-the more seems to change, the more the fundamentals remain. It still all about storytelling, and Kobre's Videojournalism smart enough to start with and devote a good third of the text to storytelling, with lots of examples linked on the accompanying website. Kobre also incorporates chapters on ethics and law, as well as marketing, which (along with the chapters on storytelling) are written by eight guest contributors. That structure obvi- ously leads to a bit of repetition-not necessarily a bad thing-but also a richness of expertise not easily supplied by any one individual.The core material on visuals, audio, and production are mostly written by Kobre himself, who can justifiably say that he wrote the (p. 103) on photography, as he says at one point. This a useful textbook for instructors from print or web back- grounds who are struggling with the transition to teaching online classes with a strong video component, which what motivated me to give it a look.But this a videojournalism text, not an online textbook. Determining exactly who the book intended for was a bit of a moving target. For Kobre, video- journalism a field that combines elements of photojournalism, pro- duction and documentary filmmaking. The cover blurb says that the book is for anyone learning how to master the art and craft of telling real stories with words, sound and pictures for the Web or television. On the website, it proclaims that Ken Kobre's groundbreaking textbook teaches students and professionals how to shoot, edit and produce high-quality videojournalism stories.1So the intent explicitly to cover both web and video, for both students and professionals. Both of these oppositions are problematic to a degree. Andrew Tolson and others (largely in Great Britain) have described a form of post- television seen online on YouTube and elsewhere that differs in form and reception from traditional broadcasting, or even much of broadcasters' online video. At one point, Videojournalism says that it about short-form stories for the Internet (p. 52), and that does seem to be the primary intent, but recognition of forms of audience and audience reception for the era would have helped clarify the core question of what, exactly, this book about. In addition, there a sense throughout, sometimes overtly acknowledged, that the teaching here still strongly rooted in traditional broadcast and photojournalism, as opposed to the new authenticity to quote Tolson, of a post-television era. …